Cloud Computing and Small Business
Dave Finley
CIS 207
November 14, 2012
Michael Green
Cloud Computing and Small Business
Cloud computing is an established technology that has been available for a number of years; it has evolved, and constantly improved. The concept conceived in the 1960s by J. Licklider and John McCarthy envisioned computation in the form of a global network. In 1997, Ramnath Chellappa first coined the phrase “cloud computing” describing information systems, Mohamed (2012). Studies have shown, cloud computing is transforming the topography of the computing industry, and it is evident that cloud computing brings vast benefits for IT users. Even though there are security issues, the benefits of cloud computing are substantial because it increases business value for small enterprises and reduces the total cost of ownership. In the last few years, there has been a growing emergence of businesses adapting the cloud-computing concept for their IT solutions. Because it is an on-demand service, it has become very attractive to all types and sizes of enterprises, Garrison, Kim, and Wakefield (2012).
Key Benefits and Characteristics
There are numerous benefits for any business to take advantage of the easy to use technology. In addition, there has been advancement in other features such as virtualization technology, software interoperability, and higher bandwidth speeds extend the reach of cloud computing. Mohamed (2012) states, “When these companies deliver services in a way that is reliable and easy to consume, the knock-on effect to the industry as a whole is a wider general acceptance of online services." However, there are managerial concerns around cloud security issues because IT personnel need to manage the computing environments, when securing, managing, and monitoring the external resources in the cloud. According to Han (2011), the majority of small enterprises failure to see the advantaging of cloud computing, therefore it is...